TdE - Day 27 Hausen im Tal - Donaueschingen

Route: Hausen im Tal - Beuron - Donau - temporary end of Donau - Donau source - Donaueschingen 
Distance: 80 km
Elevation: 408 m
Duration: 4:26 h
Weather:  Sun, clouds and sometimes a bit of drizzle, 20 C 

The highlight today was the disappearance of the Danube. And no, I am not referring to a place beyond its source, but somewhere midway through. 

But for a more logical explanation let’s start with the “source” of the Danube, which was my goal today. 

I put source in quotation marks, because neither of the two sources (!) I saw today is actually the source of the Danube. There are at least another two places that have a more logical claim to bring the source. And one of them is about 300 km away from here in the Engadin in Switzerland… normally called the source of the Inn. But where the Inn flows into the Danube it is actually bigger than the Danube. 

An other source is not so far away, only 35 km, and is called the source of the Breg. 

But the two sources I saw today are the more official ones:

#1 is the confluence of Breg and Brigach, which is an exceptionally ugly location:

#2 is the source of the Danube as defined by the local aristocrat who conveniently has it right besides his castle and decorated it lavishly:

The statue is of “mother” Baar (yet another affluent of the Danube) who explains her “daughter” Danube where to flow…

… only it seems the daughter didn’t listen too well, because after about 30 km the Danube disappears underground and only surfaces again a few kilometers to the South in the source of the Aach, which then flows into the Rhine! Or at least for most of the year that is what happens. The Danube gets completely dry, syphoning off all its water away to the Aach. Only in winter and spring the Danube has so much water that it can’t loose all of it and actually makes it to the Black Sea. 

In order to see the dry Danube, I hiked a bit into the valley. It is really surprising how quickly a relatively large river disappears. At some point one can even hear how it is going underground. 

But the day started in the narrow part of the Danube valley. After some kilometers I passed these sleepy cows. They were still lying all huddled together and the only sound came from their ears and tails flapping around. 

I also stopped at the abbey in Beuron. It seems to be very famous, but I have to say that I expected something a bit more impressive. Maybe it is important for a religious and not so much artistic reason. Although one has to admit that there is of the stained glass for the Ray of light was very effective.  

TdE - Day 10-16 Bad Homburg

Routes: in and around Bad Homburg 

Walking: 44 km

Cycling: 17 km
Weather: Getting colder, generally cloudy, but not that much rain as the weather announcers promised 

This last week a welcome break at my parents house, with a washing machine, my mothers cooking, late starts, some shopping and a lot of walking.

As on the bike I only bring one “off bike” set of clothes I had shipped a small parcel to my parents with more normal clothes. 

On the Monday (TdE Day 10) my mother wanted to go shopping for her, and we found 3 very nice dresses here in Bad Homburg for her which she has been wearing ever since. And I also found a nice dress for me. 

The next day (TdE Day 11) we wanted to do some hiking and took the city bus up to Saalburg, an ancient Roman fortress, which however this time we didn’t visit (we went there with Matteo only a few weeks ago). Instead we hiked over to Hessenpark, an open air museum and then back. On the way out we got slightly lost in the forest, not really lost but didn’t find the most logical way, so when we arrived at the Hessenpark we were hungry. Since the 23/August the “3G rule” applies which in German stands for vaccinated, recovered or tested (geimpft, genesen, getestet) when visiting an indoor location or a restaurant. In some places they just ask in others they duly check at the entrance. At Hessenpark they checked in detail, but we were all in the “geimpft” (vaccinated) category and could proof it, so had no problems. 

After lunch we hiked back taking a slightly different path and this time following an officially indicated hiking path, which came by this newly created pond complete with a bench, where we observed a caterpillar  crawling up and down the table in front of us, apparently without a clear idea where he actually wanted to go. We couldn’t help either. 

In the evening Matteo came for one night and on Wednesday (TdE Day 12) we made a trip together to the newly built “Altstadt” (old town) of Frankfurt. Scenic it is, and for sure nicer than the ugly post war city hall that was occupying that space before. 

We had lunch together and then Matteo departed while we went for some long planned shopping in the city. Due to Covid-19 my parents weren’t in Frankfurt for over a year, maybe even 2 years. Not that they were going to Frankfurt frequently before then either, but since Covid they avoided to take public transport plus most shops were closed for a long time. Nevertheless the shopping list of my mother wasn’t that long either and we managed to get everything in a single street and then had cake in the same street as well before returning home by commuter train. I was surprised how much the busy city center of Frankfurt did stress me out. Living 4 years now in small Leiden and never going to Amsterdam has had an effect. And we’ll, Tokyo or Osaka is just not the same stress level (for me) as a busy European town. Maybe the fact that we needed to look constantly not to loose my father was also an additional stress factor. He orientates himself well in Bad Homburg in areas where he always is, but he wouldn’t be able any longer to orientate himself in Frankfurt or be capable of taking some actions to get back home. 

On Thursday (TdE Day 13) my mother wanted some time at home, I wanted to do some bicycle related shopping, so I took my father along on a bike ride that would bring us midway through to a huge bicycle shop. Actually the same bicycle shop where I bought a lot of equipment for my 2 month ride through Japan 4 years ago. This time I got a new helmet (same model as before as I find it quite comfortable) and a pump, as the old one at my parents place was loosing more air than putting in the tubes.

In the afternoon the weather was still fine (although the weather forecast was warning since days that it would like early autumn and rainy), so all 3 of us went for a walk through the park. Heidi and I each wearing one blue and white shoe as she has two identical pairs of barefoot shoes. (We we’re also wearing our new blue dresses bought on Monday).

We also admired a lot an electric substation that recently got painted as if it were a small temple. The “background” is actually the real background that would be visible if the substation didn’t block the view.

On Friday (TdE Day 14) we had an appointment at a restaurant at Saalburg where my parents first met and where they now 52 years later will celebrate their Golden wedding anniversary. Now it was only the organization what menu to choose, where the table will be… As the appointment was at 11:30 it was too early for us to have lunch right away, so we hiked instead to Herzberg (“heart mountain”) and had lunch there. My parents already told me, but really nearly all the thick forest that once covered the entire hike between Saalburg and Herzberg had gone. Fallen victim to a hurricane and the destructive forces of the bark beetle. 

As it was rather cold that day, all the sun was actually quite welcome but if you are expecting to hike in a nice, lush forest away from the heat, you are up for a big disappointment. 

Yesterday (TdE Day 15) we stayed in Bad Homburg and had a look at the extremely low key edition of the Laternenfest (“lantern festival”). In normal times THE festival of my home town, but this year a quite depressive affair. 

And no, this picture was NOT taken when it was still closed.

And finally today (TdE Day 16) we hardly moved, but we did go down to the nearest park where a traditional dog racing event was held. Although I am afraid of dogs, I do remember it fondly of my childhood days. 

And it was funny again. The best scene being one of these dogs deciding mid race, to take a poop. 

In the afternoon I helped my father to write the text for the invites to their Golden wedding anniversary and packed everything for departure tomorrow. 

 

Hilly NL - Day 3, 4 & 5 Rides to bicycle repair

Bicycle: 33 km

Car: 34 km 

Taxi: 5 km

Walking: 5 km

Riding time: 2:02 h

Walking time: 1:08 h
Total ascent:  165 m
Avg speed: 17.1 km/h; 14.5 km/h; 15.1 km/h
Route: Mainly to and from bicycle repair shop

Weather: Generally sunny, in the later days quite windy but less hot, 19 - 28 C 

These last 3 days, instead of riding, I have mainly been going to the bicycle repair shop. It started alright on Thursday (Day 3) morning, when I got up really early (6:00 am) to have a ride in the morning before breakfast as weather forecast for the day was hot. Too hot for me to comfortably cycle. 

I decided for a route of about 40 km around the hotel so that I would be back by around 9:15 in time for a shower before breakfast. As typical for this region, I came by some castles... 

... and then mainly cycled in between the Maas river and a parallel (but higher) running canal. At some point my planned route had me cross the canal, where there wasn't any bridge at all, but luckily going straight on the side of the canal where I was, was an option, so I continued on. 

The landscape overall was flat (although one could see some hills farther away) and not specially thrilling but okay for an early morning ride. 

Shortly after crossing the canal and starting my way back to the hotel, the bicycle became hard to steer... so I checked... and the front wheel was going flat. I tried pumping it up, but as soon as I removed the pump it went flat again within less than a minute. So nothing to be done. At this moment it was 8:30, so safe enough to call my husband to come and pick me up. (Alternatively I could have caught a bus and then a second bus... but well, husband wasn't too far away and it was time to get up anyway).

While waiting for him, I checked out brompton sellers at Maastricht and found two shops, one of them right in front of the train station. So it seemed that the solution to the problem was relatively easy. Boy was I wrong!

After breakfast we went by car to Maastricht, I handed over the poor (young) brompton to the bicycle repair man and we went off to some sightseeing and shopping in Maastricht. (While on this trip my bicycle broke, it was also the trip where on the first hike the hiking shoes of my husband broke... so definitely a trip with a lot of broken essentials). Anyway, we did our day in Maastricht and as the bike shop hadn't called (as promised) we went back again to the hotel and lounged in the large, park like garden all afternoon in the shadow of a huge oak. 

On Friday (Day 4) morning, we had decided to do a day without hiking and cycling, visiting a castle, having ice cream in yet another castle and then driving back to Maastricht to pick up the bicycle which by now should have been repaired... although the bike shop never called. And there it was, with a new, fully inflated tire waiting for me. So all seemed good and the poor brompton went into the trunk and we back to the hotel. 

As it was still early and I hadn't moved a lot during the day, I decided for a round of about 30 km around the hotel... but only after a km or so I noticed that steering was still very hard, and I made an enormous effort to even cycle. I found a quiet spot on a road and examined what was wrong with the bike. It definitely wasn't a flat. It was the breaks on the front wheel which now touched the wheel continuously... and obviously made cycling hard work. 

So back it was to the bicycle repair shop. I still had hopes that this would be an easy fix, and luckily this bicycle repair shop only closes at 19:00 so I had enough time to fight my way back into the city against the wind and with the breaks half on. 

Unfortunately it was not a quick fix, and I needed to leave the poor brompton in the shop again. For yet another night. And had to call again my husband to come and pick me up. I think he is simply relieved to hear when I call that it is the bicycle that has a problem and not me. 

As they promised that the bicycle would be repaired first thing today (Day 5) in the morning, we went right after breakfast to pick it up again, and yes, there it was, with a front wheel full of air and rolling. I even did a test ride of about 1.5 km through the center of Maastricht to try it out, and all seemed well. So husband set off by car for his hike to the highest point in the Netherlands, and I started the ride that I wanted to do yesterday. 

I had the entire day ahead of me, so decided to take it slow, do the same round I had planned yesterday afternoon and stop at each castle on the way and take a picture. I managed two...

... before the flat stroke again. Not even 8 km had it lasted (while the previous front tyre lasted for over 6,000 km!)

Luckily I was very close to a bus stop, the bus was there waiting and going straight to Maastricht station. So there I went again, to my not-preferred bicycle repair shop in Limburg. They took in the bicycle again to repair it once more. While I took a taxi back to the hotel, where I rejoined my husband who gave up on his hiking plans when hearing about my bromptons disadventure. 

At this point, I was very much tempted to take a train back to Leiden and get my Specialized Roubaix... but it would have meant an entire day in the train, the hassle of reserving a spot for the bike on the train (due to Corona) and the hassle again on Tuesday to either try to fit the bike in the car, or to ride back alone by train again. Luckily my husband convinced me to do an alternative plan. Hiking!!! An activity I quite dislike, mainly because I find it strenuous and boring. But I got to select the hiking route and choose a short one, about 5 km, with fields and forest, no hills and a restaurant at the end. Which was actually quite nice. 

En route we came by a castle with hotel and restaurant...

... later on through meadows with horses that choose to stay right in front of the exit gate (but didn't actually try to escape, just stood there, annoying the hikers) ...

... and finally along a small stream back to the restaurant where we had parked and then had a late lunch.

Before the hike the bicycle repair shop actually called that the bike was fixed again (they changed again the inner tube and this time even fitted it with a normal brompton valve on not a Dutch valve, which they previously claimed was completely unavailable in the Netherlands). I now really wonder what kind of inner tube they had used in the first repair attempt. Probably not a brompton inner tube but something else, which actually did not fit. 

For today I was fed up with cycling... tomorrow more... hopefully. And hopefully to new destinations!